An Athens woman was arrested last week after she reportedly left the scene of an accident.
Continue reading "Athens woman charged for leaving accident scene"

MCHS puts 3-1 record to the test after huge win

It might be too early to call these Raiders the “comeback kids,” but Madison County is off to its best start in five years.

The Raiders (3-1) find themselves within one victory of matching last year’s season win total after scoring a huge 60-48 road win over Salem Tuesday.

“We haven’t accomplished anything yet,” coach Steve Crouse said. “But they’re starting to see the payoff.”

Madison County hopes that payoff continues Friday against Monroe Area when it shoots for a 4-1 start after a 4-21 season a year ago.

“That’s our next opponent and that’s what we talked about in the locker room,” Crouse said.

Of course, opponents might be talking about Patrick McCrary after Tuesday night’s game.

The Raider post player grabbed 24 rebounds and scored 17 points to lead upstart Madison County past the Seminoles.

“Pat was a man on the defensive boards,” Crouse said, noting the junior’s 18 defensive rebounds.

Madison County jumped out to a six-point advantage after a quarter, led by 10 at the half and withstood a third-quarter Salem run in winning its first region contest of the year. Madison County has now won three straight games after dropping its first game of the year to Brookwood, 67-61, back on Nov. 15.

McCrary’s 17 points were a season-high for the Raiders’ leading returning scorer from last year.

“When we got the ball inside to him, good things happened,” Crouse said.

T.J. McGuire came off the bench and added 11 points and Reterrium Davis scored 10 as the Raiders had at least three players reach double figures for the fourth-straight game.

“I challenge the guys all the time,” Crouse said. “We’ve got guys who can score.”

Seth Fleming also threw in eight points and Bradley Raines had six, including a dunk.

Defensively, Madison County held Salem to under 50 points, employing a man-to-man defense most of the night with an occasional 1-3-1 zone look.

“We work on defense everyday … Our man-to-man defense is improving,” Crouse said.

The coach’s only complaint? Twenty offensive boards by Salem. Crouse noted that his guys would be running some sprints for that in practice.

Madison County’s 3-1 start matches its best record after four games since the 2003-2004 Raiders started out 3-1.
However, that team dropped its next two games.

These Raiders want to continue what they’ve started.

Crouse said he’s looking forward to having Monroe Area coming to Danielsville this Friday.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Crouse said. “It’s going to a great game to have in our home gym on a Friday night.”

MADISON CO. 60, SALEM 48
MCHS 15 19 12 14 — 60
SHS 9 15 9 15 — 48
Scorers: McCrary 17, McGuire 11, Davis 10, Fleming 8, Raines 6, Smith 5, Griffeth 2, Sapp 1

Roger Watson will leave his seat at the Danielsville City Council table at the end of the month after 11 years of service.
Continue reading "Long-time Danielsville council member resigns"

Madison County suffered its first loss of the season and it might not be the last unless the effort on the court changes, head coach Dan Lampe said.

Third-ranked Madison County (3-1) fell to fifth-ranked Salem 56-53 Tuesday in Conyers.

The team faces Monroe Area (Friday) and North Oconee (Saturday) before returning to Conyers Tuesday for a matchup with Heritage.

“We travel back down here next Tuesday to play another fairly decent team …. If we play like we did tonight (Tuesday), we’ll probably wind up in the same boat,” Lampe said. “We’ve got to find our step between now and then.”

Courtney Freeman led Madison County with 22 points, while Shantyrdra Arnold added 15 and Kayla Freeman had 10.
Madison County started out in an 8-0 hole and never fully recovered. The Lady Raiders trailed 29-24 at the half and 43-42 after three quarters.

“I hope the loss serves as a wake-up call,” Lampe said.

The coach pointed to a number of problematic areas in the loss, but said it all started with a lack of exertion.

“I’m just looking for effort at this point,” Lampe said.

Madison County went cold from the floor, but the team’s lack of rebounding alarmed Lampe more.

“They killed us on the boards,” he said. “That was really the story. Their offensive boards and points, they had so many other looks because we weren’t boxing out.”

Madison County hadn’t been challenged all season prior to Tuesday, winning its first three games by 29 points or more.
That might have given the Lady Raiders a false sense of confidence, Lampe said.

“The teams we played early, we could get away with that kind of stuff against those teams and it just didn’t hurt us,” he said. “This team exposed those weaknesses. If nothing more, it gave us a starting point for what we needed to do.”

SALEM 56, MADISON CO. 53
MCHS 14 10 18 11 — 53
SHS 16 13 14 13 — 56
Scorers: C. Freeman 22, Arnold 15, K. Freeman 10, Whieldon 4, Smith 2

Madison County High School basketball players Courtney Freeman and Bradley Raines were named Athletes of the Week by the school’s athletic department

Freeman notched her third consecutive double-double during the Lady Raiders’ 73-36 win over Cross Creek Nov. 25. She scored 16 points to lead Madison County.

Bradley scored 12 points in the Raiders’ 64-58 victory over Cross Creek, grabbing nine rebounds, eight steals and going 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Senior Michael Kilpatrick (130-lb.) picked up two victories last Tuesday night to lead the Raider wrestling team in matches against Franklin County and Banks County.

“He won both of his (matches) in pretty good fashion,” coach Richie Houston said. “He’s our senior and our only really four-year starter on the team this year. He had a pretty good night.”

As a team, Madison County beat the Lions, 62-18, but lost to the Leopards, 58-14.

Other winners against Franklin County besides Kilpatrick were Brett Coggins (112), Colton Phillips (119), Mauro Ortiz (125), Jesse Trueloze (140), Chris Savage (145), Issac Smith (152), Steven Resby (160), Joey Doster (189), Tyler Adams (215) and Justin Peters (285).

Just three Raider wrestlers earned victories against Banks County — Kilpatrick (130), Kyle Bates (145) and Kyle Gordon (215).
Madison County also wrestled Tuesday night against Clarke Central and Stephens County.

The team moves on to the Panther Invitational this Friday and Saturday.

“That’s usually one of the toughest of the early-season tournaments in the state,” Houston said. “It’s usually pretty tough and we’ve got a young team. For some of the older guys, they’ll kind of see where they stand and kind of give us a direction of what we need to work on.”

With new requirements this year, several Raider wrestlers are still trying to make weight.

“After this week, a lot of people’s weights should be down … But the only good thing is that everybody’s in the same boat we are,” Houston said.

Dear Editor:

Here are my thoughts on animal and gun control: When anyone is looking for property they usually contact the Chamber of Commerce or other sources to find out what the county provides. One thing they look at is animal control. Many folks will not move to a county where they have to shoot stray cats or dogs or even rabid raccoons.

Continue reading "LETTER: Offers thoughts on animal, gun control"

All businesses in unincorporated areas (outside of city limits) in Madison County will be required to pay an occupation tax in 2009.
Continue reading "County occupation tax on tap in 2009"

The Athens Post 32 of the Georgia State Patrol reportedly investigated 14 traffic crashes in Madison County during the month of November. The crashes resulted in 15 injuries and no deaths, according to the press release.
Continue reading "GSP investigates 14 wrecks in county"

Dear Editor:

This is an open letter to the “more recent” residents of Madison County.

Continue reading "LETTER: A letter to county’s ‘more recent’ residents"

The Honorable Donald “Hoppy” Royston, long-time probate judge of Madison County, has been selected as this year’s grand marshal for the 2008 City of Comer Christmas Parade, according to a press release from the city.
Continue reading "Royston to serve as Comer grand marshal"

A Commerce man was sentenced recently in Madison County Superior Court to four years in jail on a theft charge.
Continue reading "Commerce man sentenced to four years confinement for theft"

Dear Editor:

In the name of religion, how much blood has been spilt down through the centuries in wars between the major religions or in fighting between sects of the same religion?

Continue reading "LETTER: World needs to put an end to religious hatred"

A Hull woman was arrested early Monday morning, Nov. 24, after allegedly assaulting her 16-year old foster daughter in the presence of her autistic 15-year old daughter.
Continue reading "Hull woman charged with assault"

I read somewhere once that journalism is the first draft of history. That may be true. It would explain some of the gross mistakes and distortions of facts that can be found in our history books.
Continue reading "OPINION: Journalists write first draft of history, but seldom get it right"

At Thanksgiving, Americans often celebrate their blessings with family and friends. Because food plays an integral part of holiday gatherings, the week of Thanksgiving makes the perfect time to celebrate Farm-City Week, Nov. 21 through Thanksgiving Day, and reflect on the cooperative relationship between farmers and their urban colleagues who help process, market and retail the food farmers grow to the American consumer, according to a press release from Madison County Farm Bureau.
Continue reading "Farm City Week celebrates nature’s bounty"

MCHS girls win third-straight blowout

The Madison County basketball team will finish November without having broken a sweat.

The Lady Raiders (3-0) won their third game in a row by 29 points or more, beating Cross Creek 73-36 Tuesday on the final night of Madison County’s own Northeast Georgia Shootout.

So has the competition been sub-par or are the Lady Raiders just that good?

“We’ll know at Salem,” said coach Dan Lampe, referring to his team’s Dec. 2 region opener. “When you go to Salem you get your moxie tested.”

No moxie needed Tuesday.

Kayla Freeman scored a season-high 14 points, all in the first half, as Madison County (3-0) clobbered Cross Creek by 37 points. Freeman would have likely scored much more but played sparingly after Madison County led 51-15 at the half.

The team has outscored its opponents 97-28 in the first half in its last two games.

“They’re coming out ready to play,” Lampe said.

The Lady Raiders and the Lady Razorbacks were actually tied 8-8 late in the first quarter, but Madison County reeled off nine-straight points to start what would be a long night for Cross Creek.

“It just opened up after that,” said Lampe, who moved to 28-7 overall as a head coach.

Kayla Freeman had her best game of the young season, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Lampe said he not only talked to the sophomore post player about getting offensive boards, but scoring on them as well.

“I think she was our most active rebounder,” Lampe said.

Sister Courtney Freeman finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Raiders.

Madison County used a 35-4 run in the first half to build a 43-12 lead late in the second quarter. Both Lauren Smith and Molly Glaze hit two three-pointers each during that stretch as Madison County’s outside game continues to improve.

The Lady Raiders led by as much as 41 points in the second half.

Smith finished with four three pointers and 12 points.

Glaze, who came off the bench, scored 10.

Lampe said Madison County success from three-point land is a direct result of the Lady Raiders’ off-season work in the gym.

“I don’t know how many (three-pointers) we had last year,” he said. “It was probably less than 10. This year we’ve hit maybe 16.”

The Lady Raiders will now see if that three-point shooting holds up in region play. Madison County plays Salem Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the road.

Lampe describes the Lady Seminoles as a team with a good mix of posts and outside shooters.

“And they’re deep too,” he said.

Score-by-quarter
CCHS 8 7 11 10 -- 36
MCHS 17 34 15 7 -- 73
Scorers: C. Freeman 16, K. Freeman 14, Smith 12, Glaze 10, Peeples 7, Arnold 6, Whieldon 4, Skelton 4

Madison Co. forces slew of turnovers in win

The number jumped right off the stat sheet when coach Steve Crouse reviewed the game totals.

Madison County (2-1) forced 33 turnovers in a 64-58 win over Cross Creek Tuesday on the final night of the Northeast Georgia Shootout in Danielsville.

“Yes, the defense is improving,” said Crouse, whose team has forced an eye-catching 60 turnovers in its last two games.

The Raider defense stepped up when it had to in this one, especially late with four consecutive stops in the waning moments. That allowed Madison County to increase a three-point lead with 1:32 left to eight points with 24 seconds remaining.

The Raiders were also able to limit Cross Creek’s 6-6 forward Santoine Butler, a college prospect, to just seven points.

“We wanted to give a little more help to the inside game,” Crouse said of his team’s defensive strategy.

Offensively, four different players scored in double figures, with Seth Fleming leading the way with 15. He was followed by Patrick McCrary (12), Bradley Raines (11) and Reterrium Davis (10).

Fleming hit back-to-back three-pointers in the second quarter to help rally Madison County from a 25-15 deficit to its second win of the tournament.

The Raiders, who shot 41.9 percent from the floor, led by a point at halftime and traded leads with Cross Creek nine times in the second half before Fleming hit a pair of free throws with 4:54 left in the game to move Madison County ahead, 49-48.

Raines added a three-pointer 17 seconds later and Madison County didn’t look back.

The Raiders have now won twice in November. Madison County didn’t win its second game of the season last year until late January.

And for a program that’s struggled for wins the previous four seasons, Madison County has now won five times in its last 10 games dating back to last year.

While Crouse was happy his team earned the victory, it was far from a perfect effort. He noted that his team turned the ball over 23 times.

“It wasn’t pretty,” he said. “In fact, it was pretty ugly ... But we got some easy transition baskets, we made some stops and hit our free throws.”

Free throws were a big part of the fourth quarter.

Madison County drained six of its final eight attempts to salt away the victory. The Raiders hit 16-of-25 on the night, while Cross Creek attempted only 13.

“That’s a stat I like to look at,” Crouse said. “When we make more free throws than they shot.”

Madison County will now shoot for a 3-1 start taking on Salem Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Conyers. The Raiders lost to the Seminoles, 69-60, last year.

Score-by-quarter
CCHS 16 13 14 15 -- 58
MCHS 10 20 14 20 -- 64
Scorers: Fleming 15, McCrary 12, Raines 11, Davis 10, Griffeth 8, Smith 3, Morris 3, McGuire 2

After watching back court mate Lauren Smith light-up the scoreboard last week, Shantydra Arnold decided to get in on the action, too.

The junior guard scored 22 points to spark Madison County’s 65-36 victory over Class AAAAA Newton County Saturday in its opener in the Northeast Georgia Invitational in Danielsville.

Arnold was on-target from mid-range and picked up her share of fast break points in her first 20-point performance of the year.

“She played just excellent defense and got a lot of turnovers and lay-ups,” coach Dan Lampe said.

Madison County — which has won 50 of its last 62 games dating back to the 2006-2007 season — was hardly challenged Saturday night.

The Lady Raiders led Newton County 24-5 after the first quarter and 46-13 at the half before emptying its bench in the third quarter.

“I would like to test their moxie a little and see what they would do in a tight ball game,” Lampe said.

Madison County, known for standout post players Courtney and Kayla Freeman, has been led by a guard offensively in its first two games. Lauren Smith, also a junior, scored 19 points in the opener against Brookwood and added 11 in the win over Newton County.

Lampe said Smith’s control of the tempo of the game at the point guard position is improving.

“Push it when it’s supposed to be pushed, pull back when it’s supposed to be pulled back, running plays, she’s really doing a good job of leading the team in that,” he said.

The Lady Raiders’ guard play is not a total surprise. Lampe thought this might be a big year for a backcourt that’s grown more experienced as 11th graders.

“Not a surprise, but definitely good to see,” he said. “You hope it comes along when it does. It was not a complete surprise.”

Part of that maturation has been improved shooting from the perimeter. Arnold hit one three-pointer and Smith drilled three three-pointers in the win over Newton County.

The pair accounted for six three pointers in Madison County’s victory over Brookwood Nov. 15.

“(We’re) getting some wide-open looks and Lauren and ‘Tydra are knocking them down,” Lampe said.

Of course, no one’s forgetting about Madison County’s ability to score in the frontcourt.

Courtney Freeman continued her standout work on the low block against Newton. The Appalachian State signee scored 15 points and grabbed 12 boards.

“She had a great night,” Lampe said.

Lampe noted that Freeman turned 80 percent of her offensive rebounds into points.

“So she had a high efficiency rating,” he said.

Kayla Freeman ran into foul trouble once again and was limited to eight points. But when she gets rolling, the Lady Raiders should be even more potent, Lampe said.

“She’s probably got the best mid-range jumper on our team,” he said.

Madison Co. 65, Newton Co. 36
NCHS 5 8 8 15 — 36
MCHS 24 22 17 2 — 65
Scorers: Arnold 22, C. Freeman 15, Smith 11, K. Freeman 8, Glaze 3, Peeples 2, Whieldon 2, Fleming 22

One Madison County player offered an interesting point in the locker room as the Raiders (1-1) savored a 20-point win over Duluth Saturday night.



“I said, ‘Guys, we need to act like we’ve been here before,’” coach Steve Crouse said. “And one of them spoke up and he said, ‘Well, coach, I don’t know if we’ve ever beaten a Class AAAAA team before.’”

Now they have, in resounding fashion.

Led by three scorers in double figures — Bradley Raines (15 points), Patrick McCrary (14) and Seth Fleming (13) — Madison County hammered Class AAAAA Duluth, 70-50, at home to open the annual Northeast Georgia Invitational.

Madison County led 34-32 at halftime before blowing the game open in the second half.

The Raiders outscored Duluth 24-9 in the fourth quarter as all players, save for one freshman, got into the game.

“They players were hungry,” Crouse said. “They stayed hungry all week long,” Crouse said.

The victory followed a season-opening loss Brookwood to Nov. 15 where free throws weighed heavily.

But Madison County acquitted itself at the charity stripe Saturday, draining 21-of-28 attempts.

“We more than doubled our trips to the line and we took advantage of it,” Crouse said.

Though the Raiders shot 40 percent overall from the floor, they hit 20-of-39 shots from two-point range, led by McCrary who hit 6-of-10 shots.

Madison County, which led 46-41 heading into the final period, also stepped up its defensive performance from its first game.

Crouse said a scouting report revealed that Duluth possessed good perimeter players, so the Raiders knew going-in which players they’d have to defend well.

“We had an advantage … Coach (Ben) Baker went and saw them play and kind of gave us kind of a good scouting report on who their shooters were,” Crouse said.

Madison County held Duluth’s leading scorer to just nine points and improved in a variety of defensive areas.
“We won the rebounding war and we did some really good things, defensively, boxing out, contesting the shots, cutting off penetration,” Crouse said.

The coach also credited preparation for the win.

Madison County started the week with a good practice on Monday, Crouse said, and built on that as the week progressed.

“It continued to get better Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday … Our focus was there,” Crouse said. “Thursday was a particularly good practice.”

And Crouse didn’t let his players leave that victorious locker room Saturday night without a reminder about practice.

“I said, ‘enjoy it,’ but remember, come Monday, we go to work again,” he said.


Madison Co. 70, Duluth 50

DHS 16 16 9 9 — 50
MCHS 16 18 12 24 — 70

Scorers: Raines 15, McCrary 14, Fleming 13, Smith 7, McGuire 5, Griffeth 4, Davis 4, Morris 3, Thomas 3, Butler 2

County commissioners took action Monday to make sure the county government gets its money back if an employee steals county funds.
Continue reading "BOC approves bonding arrangement"

A Colbert woman was arrested last week during an argument with her boyfriend because he reportedly ate at a Hooters Restaurant.
Continue reading "Colbert woman assaults boyfriend after Hooters visit"

The bad news surrounds us. Our fears are real and warranted about the economy, but so is the need for a balanced perspective. We approach Thanksgiving with many facing such hard times, but it’s important to look at our own lives and recognize the good things we have.
Continue reading "OPINION: It’s important to recognize the good we have"

Cana Chambers will spend two years behind bars for stealing from the Madison County Probate Office.
Continue reading "Chambers sentenced to two years in jail"

Madison County Schools superintendent Dr. Mitch McGhee doesn’t expect any new news from the Consortium for Adequate School Funding until at least January of 2009.
Continue reading "McGhee doesn’t expect any consortium action until after new year"

Dear Editor:

An article in the Nov. 20 Madison County Journal, “McGhee ready to be rid of voucher discussion,” prompted the following comments.

Continue reading "LETTER: Voucher system would prove beneficial"

The Madison County Board of Commissioners will meet today (Monday) at 6:30 p.m., in the county government complex.

Agenda items include:

Continue reading "Madison Co. BOC to meet today"

Sometimes I imagine being “too big to fail.”

Perhaps I’d buy a Lexus, put a nice stereo in it, drive it to a luxury hotel, order lobster from room service and just put it on the tab.

Continue reading "OPINION: The era of ‘too big to fail’"

The city of Hull will hold its “Welcome to Christmas” ceremony at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 25, at the “well” on Glenn Carrie Road next to the Golden Pantry in Hull.
Continue reading "Hull Christmas tree lighting set for Tues."

The Broad River Watershed Association (BRWA) is working with the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center (RDC) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to monitor a five-mile segment of the Broad River in Madison County for fecal coliform bacteria.
Continue reading "Broad River group volunteers to use new tool to monitor water quality"

Dan Lampe wouldn’t mind some heart-stoppers early on this season.

In fact, the second-year Madison County coach invites the prospect of playing tough games right now so his team is all the more battle-tested by the time the region schedule is in full-tilt.

“To get into game shape and to get the real timing, you just want to be pushed as hard as you can every game,” Lampe said. “Ideally, we’d play Class AAAAA schools and they’d go down to overtime every game. That would be perfect for me.”

Madison County’s first region game is Dec. 2 against Salem. The Lady Raiders start their sub-region slate Jan. 6 against Habersham Central.

For now, the Lady Raiders face Newton County and Cross Creek when they host the Northeast Georgia Invitational Tournament Nov. 22 and 25. Madison County plays Newton Saturday at 6 p.m. and Cross Creek Tuesday at 7 p.m.

As far as how good those teams will be, Lampe will have to put in some overtime this week trying to find scouting reports.

He said he knows little about either.

“It’s almost like one of those tournaments you go into where you just draw and you don’t even know who you’re playing,” Lampe said.

Newton County is a Class AAAAA school from Covington which was actually in Madison County’s region earlier in this decade. But the Lady Raiders have seen little of the Lady Rams since then.

“I know who Newton is, but we’ve haven’t played them in probably three, maybe four years,” Lampe said.

But the fact that Newton is a Class AAAAA school means that the Lady Rams should be a pretty formidable foe. “Usually, Class AAAAA schools are fairly decent and have some talented people,” Lampe said.

Lampe is similarly in the dark about Cross Creek, a Class AAAA school from Augusta that went 12-13 a year ago.

“I don’t know a thing about Cross Creek,” Lampe said. “I’ll be probably emailing a lot of people this week trying to get some information on them.”

Beating Duluth and Cross Creek in this week’s Northeast Georgia Invitational Tournament is certainly important to Raider coach Steve Crouse, but developing better practice habits is priority no. 1 right now.

The ninth-year Raider coach said some lackluster practices resulted in a slow start in the team’s season opener, a 67-61 loss to Brookwood Saturday.

“I was on them pretty hard last week about their practice,” Crouse said.

Madison County faced a 20-plus point hole in the third quarter, before putting up a furious rally and nearly stealing a road win.

“We had a good practice yesterday, and I’m expecting a great practice today,” Crouse said Tuesday. “I think that lesson was learned that, hey, we’ve got to come out and practice hard everyday, so we’ll be ready to play.”

The Raiders host their annual pre-Thanksgiving tournament this week, playing Duluth Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Cross Creek Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

The coach said this first month of the season provides a good measuring stick for his team, having played both Duluth and Cross Creek, as well as Brookwood, by the end of November.

Crouse said it’s important for his guys to continue to prepare well and develop chemistry.

“The big concern is are we getting better everyday in practice?” Crouse said. “Are we working hard everyday in practice to get better and do the little things right?”

Crouse praises fan support Saturday

Crouse is hoping the atmosphere Madison County enjoyed on the road at Brookwood carries over to the school’s Northeast Georgia Invitational Tournament this week.

“When we went to Brookwood on Saturday night, we, Madison County, had more fans than Brookwood had there,” he said. “That’s impressive. We get great fan support … Hopefully, they’ll come out this weekend for the tournament.”

NOTES: Duluth comes to Danielsville for this week’s tournament sporting a team that has its share of juniors and seniors after enduring a 4-21 season a year ago.

Meanwhile, Cross Creek, a school out of the Augusta area, features two college prospects, forward Santoine Butler and point guard Jahmad Saleem.

Here's the schedule for the upcoming Northeast Georgia Invitational at Madison County High School:

Northeast Georgia Invitational

Saturday, Nov. 22

Game 1 Elbert Co. vs. Cross Creek (girls), 3 p.m.
Game 2 Elbert Co. vs. Cross Creek (boys), 4:30 p.m.
Game 3 Newton Co. vs. Madison County (girls), 6 p.m.
Game 4 Duluth vs. Madison Co. (boys), 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Game 5 Elbert Co. vs. Newton Co. (girls), 4 p.m.
Game 6 Elbert Co. vs Dacula (boys), 5:30 p.m.
Game 7 Cross Creek vs. Madison Co. (girls), 7 p.m.
Game 8 Cross Creek vs. Madison Co. (boys), 8:30 p.m.

Notes:

•The event will be conducted in a round-robin type format.
•Admission is $5 (There is no student discount). Children 12-and-under will be admitted for $3.

Two Hull men were arrested last week after allegedly robbing an elderly man on Bugg Road.
Continue reading "Hull men arrested for robbing elderly man"

An estimated 100,000 gallons of sewage was spilled last week into an unnamed tributary in Danielsville that feeds into the south fork of the Broad River.
Continue reading "Sewage spill reported in Danielsville"

Dear Editor:

After much thought, I must give my opinion on the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). In my dictionary, the definition of “series” follows: a number of things similar occurring one after another in space or time. When all this is said and done, we still do not agree who is number one.

Continue reading "LETTER: Time for a college football playoff system"

The drive through Hull might become more of a scenic route if state grant money is landed.
Continue reading "Hull seeks beautification money for Hwy. 72 corridor"

It’s still very early, but opponents might have to devise another defensive game plan for Madison County.

As most foes did last year, Brookwood attempted to clog up the middle to limit Courtney and Kayla Freeman Saturday.

And the Lady Broncos ended up paying the price.

With the outside shot open, Madison County drilled six three-pointers — five coming from Lauren Smith — in a 66-34 win in its opener.

“I can remember last year, teams would pack in and we’d be in for a dog fight … Then, all of a sudden (on Saturday) ‘Tydra (Arnold) hits a three and Lauren hit some three’s and they’ve got to get out of it and it’s all over,” coach Dan Lampe said. “If we can get some consistent three-point shooting, it would be nice.”

Lampe said Brookwood had clearly scouted Madison County’s film from last year when teams, like GAC, played a sagging man-to-man or a 2-3 zone, largely ignoring the Lady Raiders’ outside shots.

But when the Lady Broncos tried it Saturday, Smith burned them for a game-high 19 points, hitting four three-pointers in a row in one stretch, as Madison County pulled away for a 32-point win on the road.

“Everybody’s been playing us that way … It was nice to see when they went into that sagging thing and we just shot the lights out,” Lampe said.

Madison County controlled the first quarter, but only found itself ahead 26-16 at halftime.

That was partly due to Kayla Freeman, Lauren Smith and Juvonna Fleming sitting out for much of the second quarter in foul trouble.
But the Lady Raiders reinserted their starters and reasserted its authority in the third quarter, stretching their lead out to 26 points.

The Lady Raiders, who outscored Brookwood 24-8 in the third, allowed just seven field goals all night.

Offensively, Courtney Freeman added 18 points while Kayla Freeman had 10. Haley Peeples and Shantrydra Arnold both scored six points.

Courtney Freeman had six offensive rebounds and 14 boards overall.

“She was huge on the boards,” Lampe said.

Madison Co. 66, Brookwood 34
Score-by-quarter
MCHS 19 7 24 16 — 66
BHS 5 11 8 10 — 34
Leading scorers: Smith 19, C. Freeman 18, K. Freeman 10, Arnold 6, Peeples 6

Five three-pointers from the Raiders’ Reterrium Davis weren’t enough to overcome another significant stat in Madison County’s Saturday loss to Brookwood.

And that stat would be the Broncos hitting 25-of-28 attempts at the free throw line in holding off the Raiders, 67-61, in Snellville.

“Yeah, huge …,” Madison County coach Steve Crouse said of those numbers. “We don’t want to put people on the free throw line 28 times.”

Davis scored 18 points, going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, but Madison County didn’t take advantage of its own limited opportunities at the charity stripe, hitting just 7-of-13 attempts.
Not that they didn’t make things interesting, though.

Madison County trailed by more than 20 points at one point in the third quarter before whittling Brookwood’s lead to just two with 46 seconds left. But the Raiders had to put the Broncos back on the free throw line where the Class AAAAA team sealed the victory. Brookwood hit just two field goals in the fourth quarter, but went 10-of-13 from the line in the final period.

“We came back in the second half and started to play,” Crouse said. “I was very proud of our guys for coming back and winning the second half.”

Crouse said some sub-par practices last week had him concerned heading into the season opener. The Raiders then found themselves in an early hole against Brookwood, trailing 17-9 after the first quarter and 37-25 at the half.

“We had not practiced well the two or three days before we played … If you don’t practice well, you can’t expect to start well in the game,” Crouse said.

In addition to Davis’s 18 points, the Raiders also got 11 points each from Patrick McCrary and Bradley Raines.

With three different players in double figures and other players with scoring ability, Crouse thinks this team may be able to put up some points this year.

“If we execute, we’ll be able to score,” Crouse said. “Defensively, we’ve got to be able to stop people.”

And stop foes from getting to the free throw line so often.
“You give someone 28 free throws and they shoot 89 percent, you’re going to have a hard time beating them that night,” Crouse said.

Brookwood 67, Madison Co. 61
Score-by-quarter
MCHS 9 16 12 24 — 61
BHS 17 20 15 15 — 67

Scorers: Davis 18, McCrary 11, Raines 11, Griffeth 9, Fleming 6, McGuire 3, Smith 3

When Madison County starts its wrestling season Friday, it will send what looks to be a strong sophomore class out onto the mat.

Twins Cody and Colton Phillips along with Kyle Bates and Tanner Johnson highlight a nucleus of 10th graders that head into 2008-2009 looking to build on strong rookie campaigns.

“The twins and Bates, I think they won like 38 matches (last year),” Raider coach Richie Houston said. “For a freshman to come in and win almost 40 matches is not a bad thing … They’ll be a year better, they’ll be a year bigger.”

Both the Phillips brothers and Bates were one win shy of qualifying for state last year.

Also falling one victory short of the state tournament last year was Michael Kilpatrick, the team’s lone returning senior starter this year.

Kilpatrick heads a three-man senior class, which includes Chris Savage and Matt McCannon.

Still, Houston feels the team is “a little ways off,” as far as matching-up well in dual match competition given the number of new Raider wrestlers joining the mix this season.

And with new weight protocol requirements this year, it might take a couple of weeks to decide which wrestlers will wrestle in which division.

“I think the first week or two our team lineup is kind of going to be a mix and match and we may have some holes,” Houston said. “But after we get through the first couple of weeks, I think it will be a solid lineup.”

As for the region, Houston expects Rockdale County to field one of the best teams in 8-AAAA as well as Loganville, which Houston said has loads of talent.

“They’ve got the best crop of athletes coming through they’ve had in six or seven years,” Houston said.

Houston also noted that Clarke Central should be strong as well.
Gone from 8-AAAA this year due to realignment are Eastside, Alcovy, Dacula and Jackson County, while Monroe Area and Apalachee join the fold.

“It’s not going to be quite as tough as it has been the last couple years; it’s still going to be tough,” Houston said.

Speaking of tough, the criteria to qualify for state just got more demanding.

Seeking to strengthen the perception of wrestling in Georgia nation-wide, the state’s high school coaches altered the structure of the postseason.

The top four wrestlers from each region will now advance to a state sectional — not directly to the state tournament as in years past.
The top eight wrestlers then making it out of those two sectionals move on to a 16-man bracket at state.

That insures that the very best wrestlers compete at state.
“It’s a good thing. It needed to happen,” Houston said of the rule change.

It’s Houston’s hope that Madison County can send six-to-seven wrestlers to sectionals. But it’s also early to start making predictions, he noted.

“I’d be lying if I said I had all the answers right because we’re just going to kind of feel it out and see what’s going to happen at this sectional,” Houston said.